Smart Molding International 2-2020

14 newsfeed smart_molding international 2/2020 Since 2016, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Ma - chinery has invested almost EUR 20 million in modernis - ing facilities and equipment at its two German sites in Schwaig and Wiehe. On 29 June 2020, a groundbreak - ing ceremony was held to mark the next project phase within the growth strategy of the Japanese-German in - jection moulding machinery manufacturer: the construc - tion of a new lightweight warehouse with 1,600 m2 of floor space in Schwaig. "The optimisation of our internal logistics is the logical consequence of the capacity expansion and modernisation of pro - duction. We can further increase production ef - ficiency and throughput times and achieve faster delivery times," says CEO Gerd Liebig. The new hall location en - ables a direct material flow from goods receipt and the dispatch loading zone to production. Future plant expansions have also been accounted for in the plan - ning of the building. Nota - bly, the new hall houses the central collection point for production waste in order to make sorting, disposal and recycling even more efficient. Expansion of training centre completed The expansion and mod - ernisation of the training centre in Schwaig is now also completed. Doubling capacity for customer train - ing, the expansion of new training rooms provides direct connection to the applications technology department. As a result, the company’s training team has expanded to eight team members, providing train - ing in machine technology, application technology and robotics. The rooms are equipped with the latest media technology, including digital boards with touch - back function and an on - line studio, which enables course participants from all over the world to benefit from professional online training. "With our modular train - ing concepts and the world - wide integration of training material, our solutions can be used in an even more target-oriented and efficient way," explains Liebig. "We can now tailor the training courses to suit in - dividual needs. As a result, customers are more readily prepared and can immedi - ately utilise the competitive advantages of newmachin - ery and application technol - ogies from the start. Thanks to modern media technol - ogy, we now offer efficient online training which re - duces the time people need to allocate to professional skills development and per - forming practical exercises," adds Dr. Thorsten Thümen, Senior Director Technology at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag www.sumitomo- shi-demag.eu Sumitomo (SHI) Demag modernises production logistics and training centre Ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the new warehouse at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag location, Schwaig; Dr. Thorsten Thümen (Senior Director Technology), Shoichi Ohira (COO), Gerd Liebig (CEO), Robert Josephus (1st Chairman of Works Council), Martin Fischer (General Manager Operations & Supply Chain) (f.l.t.r.) Numerous trends are in - fluencing the automotive industry: automated driv - ing, electromobility, sus - tainability, lightweight con - struction, energy efficiency. In addition, the interior is getting into the focus by designers and developers. The transformation into a feel-good space on four wheels is increasing very fast. The haptics and visual appearance of components are becoming even more important. BASF is present - ing innovative materials for premium and appealing surfaces to give the interior a distinctive look. After the successful mar - ket launch in 2017 of Ultra - mid® Deep Gloss, a special polyamide for durable high- gloss trim parts, a new gen - eration of surface-improved structural materials is now following with Ultramid® B3E2G6 SI BK23353 and Ultramid® B3E2G10 SI BK23353. The glass fiber reinforced types based on polyamide 6 impress with very low emission values and good UV stability and are therefore ideally suited for the use in functional vis - ible parts in the interior. “With the newly devel - oped SI grades for func - tional parts in the car inte - rior with premium surface quality, we are offering a new solution to the existing portfolio," explains Rainer Xalter, product developer in Ultramid® for high-quality surfaces in the car interior